Seasickness
by Nerual-56
Summary: Proteus knows how to sail the seas...but that doesn't mean he can stop from losing his lunch every time he does. One of the senior officers on the ship observes. Short. Oneshot.


_I don't want to work on finals. Pus I just rediscovered my love for the movie Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Its ironic, really. I don't even like the character Sinbad all that much :P_

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Proteus was **not **a fan of sailing. Sure he knew how to sail, and yes, he was nimble on a ship. He was prince of a port city for heaven's sake; he had better know how to sail and move on a ship. And indeed many of his ventures had been on the deck of a ship, whether sailing to other nations as a delegate or preforming duties such as escorting the Book of Peace. He had experience in sailing and knew how to direct men around a ship. In fact, he was qualified to be a captain. Not only because of his royal status, but because Proteus had a genuine knowledge of how a ship works and how to sail it. There was little to deter the prince from sailing on the high seas, but there was one little thing, and it wasn't his royal duties. It was something he could never get rid of no matter how hard he tried or how bad he wanted it gone: seasickness. The Syracusian Prince was victim of chronic seasickness. Many of the officers knew this, but secretly failed to reserve judgement and humor at the prince's expense.

And despite Proteus's best efforts, he never failed in having to hang over the railing and puke up his lunch (or breakfast or dinner) into the sea. Consequently, he didn't eat much while on sea-going voyages. It was a horrible curse, really. To be part of an influential and important royal family in a port city, and be endowed with seasickness. Proteus managed as well as he could, but sailing was never really enjoyable. He soon preferred to have both feet on solid ground, or his seat on a horse's back. Such was not his luck, though. Not this time around.A senior officer named Tysus watched as the prince was leaning on the railing of the main deck, face pale and knees weak. The ocean was fairly choppy, but not so much to upset a normal sailor. It was enough for Proteus. He coughed and hacked up the remainder of his latest meal (he had forgotten exactly which one it had been). Some of the sailors knew and others didn't; some were understanding and some snickered at the land-lubber prince. A few fool-hardy ones laughed out loud, earning glares of scorn from the officers, especially Tysus. He had a deep respect and formal love for his soon-to-be king. Proteus groaned and shuffled back to his quarters, hand over his stomach. Tysus's mouth turned sidelong in condolence, _"The sooner to land, the better."_

The other senior officers glanced at one another and chuckled quietly as soon as Proteus was out of sight. Their humor was not out spite, but out of a sort of loving respect. The prince was relatively young and a few of the older officers who had known the prince since he was indeed a young boy saw him as a sort of son. They were very careful not to be anything like a father to Proteus, but they could easily imagine their own sons in the prince's place, thus causing a smile for their faces. They knew Proteus could lead them out of anything that went askew so they knew better than to mock him behind his back. The ship docked, but not before Proteus had the chance to heave up his stomach multiple times, and Tysus summoned Proteus to the deck. He had done this before; the prince was likely sleeping, trying to avoid being awake for the majority of the voyage.

Tysus padded quietly into Proteus's quarters. Indeed, the prince was snoozing; his back to the door, his leith frame wrapped in blankets. Tysus gently shook Proteus's shoulder, waking the prince. The officer stepped back and reported formally, "We have docked, sir." and promptly exited Proteus's quarters. Proteus was groggy, but rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and pulled on his boots. Stopping briefly to check he was of a fitting look for a prince, he took the stairs up the deck two at a time. His heart leapt at the sight of the dock and he had to restrain himself so that he wouldn't simply vault over the side of the ship. He practically flew down the ramp as gracefully as he could, greeting the welcoming officials and escorting them off of the docks and onto sweet, solid land. Tysus again chuckled to himself at the sight of it all. Proteus desperately wanted to get to terra firma and was pushing the posse of delegates to the shore while being pleasant and democratic all the while. It was really only noticeable if one knew the prince as well as Tysus did. It made for some amusement, but he pitied Proteus because he still had to endure the journey home. Tysus shook his head with a small smile on his face, _"That Proteus is somethin' else. Bless his soul."_


End file.
